38 REALTOR® NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2013 RealtorMag.REALTOR.orgKristina Rhodes hashelped raise nearlyhalf a million dollarsfor Make-A-Wish andhelped make more than

80 children’s dreams
come true.

See the video at

REALTOR.org/gna.

Emily Jones was a fighter. Faced with an aggressive
form of cancer, the 11-year-old from Newburgh, Ind.,
clung to her passions: her love of animals, food (crab
legs were her favorite), family, fun, and all things
bling.

Someone else who never gave up was Kristina
Rhodes—an indefatigable volunteer for Make-A-Wish who went above and beyond to make Emily’s
dream come true, something the girl’s family will
never forget.

Make-A-Wish is an international organization thatgrants wishes to children with life-threatening medi-cal conditions. Emily, a fifth-grader who was diag-nosed on Sept. 24, 2012, with acute lymphoblasticleukemia, wished to take a Caribbean cruise with herparents and older brother Isaak. That fall and winter,she and her doctors battled the disease until it wasnearly in remission. But the cancer was unrelentingand came back in the spring. Emily’s doctors de-cided to pursue a bone marrow transplant and evenfound a donor. But Emily’s white blood cell countnever reached the levels required for the transplant.She also never regained the strength necessary totravel for her cruise.

So what did Rhodes do? She brought the cruise to
Emily. On her own, Rhodes arranged a pontoon ride on
the Ohio River for Emily and a few close friends. Sending her o; was a crowd of 50 loved ones, including
some of her teachers, classmates, and family members, dressed in tropical outfits. Each person placed a
lei around Emily’s neck before she boarded the boat.
Soon Emily was festooned in tropical adornments.

“When you have a situation like Emily’s and you’reable to spend time with the family and get to knowthem, it really teaches you something,” Rhodes said.“Emily taught me about what’s really important inlife and helped me keep things in perspective.”Emily’s mom, Tracy Jones, remains in awe ofRhodes. “Kristina is a fantastic volunteer; as soon asshe walked into the room, I knew I was going to likeher. She’s so personable and so sweet,” she says.

Rhodes, who was adopted as a baby, was inspired to get involved with Make-A-Wish by her birth
mother, who volunteered in Fort Wayne, Ind. When
Rhodes found out that Make-A-Wish only had one
other volunteer in southern Indiana in 2001, she de-